686 identification assistance

[Stomehenge]

I am trying to decipher what year, model(686-1, 686-2, -3 or ?)etc… my 686 is. Also value. It’s in excellent condition with all original paperwork. I don’t know the year and if there is anything special about this particular one. Any history and insight is greatly appreciated!

 

[murphydog]

Welcome! Here is a post about ID information:

To IDENTIFY your Gun >

You should see MOD 686 plus any additional information on the frame under the barrel with the action open.

The first photo shows a Special Order code of 6164, which is thought to be the day the gun was packed and ready to ship. It indicates this day was the 164th day of 1986, or June 13. That year both the 686 and 686-1 were made so look for the model stamp as noted above.

The stocks pictured are both aftermarket replacements. A nice 4" 686 of this era with original stocks would probably be in the $700 range, so subtract a little for not having those.

 

[Stomehenge]

Yoke info

Thank you murphydog, it’s great knowing a little more about what I am shooting. Here is a photo of the yoke area with the missing info. Anything else you can glean from this please share.

 

[barbsaurus]

The box label and gun do not appear to have the same serial number...

 

[murphydog]

The box label and gun do not appear to have the same serial number...

Correct, an AAH prefix gun would be earlier, perhaps 1982?

It also has the M stamp above this, which means it was returned to the factory to replace the "hammer nose" or firing pin and the round part it goes through on the recoil shield, the "hammer nose bushing".

 

[toddimusnimski]

I am trying to decipher what year, model(686-1, 686-2, -3 or ?)etc… my 686 is. Also value. It’s in excellent condition with all original paperwork. I don’t know the year and if there is anything special about this particular one. Any history and insight is greatly appreciated!

Very nice gun! The 686 is a very popular model and a version is still in production. The L frames (586/686/etc) were designed by S&W to better handle a steady diet of 357 magnum rounds than the K frame guns (19/66/etc). Somewhat unfortunately in the 80's/90's the higher capacity semiauto pistols became popular with law enforcement and these excellent models lost a bit of their luster with police and civilian users alike.

As mentioned above, your revolver was sent back to the factory for a recall of the hammer nose bushing. If I understand correctly the hole was oversized and certain loads could excessively rupture the primer when firing, causing primer shards to jam into the bushing opening and firing pin, locking up the action. I'm pretty sure they still honor that recall.

If you remove the stocks you may see the grip's manufacturing date rubber stamped on the wood.

Welcome to the Forum!

Todd

 

[Engine49guy]

It's a fairly early 686, the very earliest ones have a large right side TM.

The M mod indicated that the factory replaced the hammer nose bushing,
Iirc this was do to some reports of a certain brand of Ammunition having soft primers that could " Flow back" jamming the cylinder.
As these were aimed at the law enforcement market you can imagine the thought of having your gun jam when you need it most could be scary, the factory will reportedly still perform the M mod upgrade gratis, people that have sent them in the last few years have reported the factory also performs a tuneup while it's there.

 

[rwsmith]

Looks like a 'no-dash'....

The first model 686s only had the "mod 686" in them with no dash numbers afterward. Like has been already pointed out, S&W offered to replace the nose and bushing and if you sent the gun back to the factory, they stamped an 'M' to designate that the work was done. So like mine, you have a 686 'no-dash' from around 1981 to 1986 when they made the engineering change 686-2. But again as pointed out, you have an earlier model.

 

[HorizontalMike]

Dates on OEM Grips

If you had the OEM stocks/grips, there is probably a date stamped on the inside one of them.

My Grips = April 21, 1986

My grips were made roughly a month before final assembly of one of my 686ND 's.

V Final Assembly V
6142 = May 23, 1986, Friday
is the date 142 days after Jan 1, 1986


BTW, I bought this one new-in-box back in 1986...